Buddy was a master technician. But he was also extremely musical.
I had an argument/debate the other day with someone about technique. The person I was debating was arguing that focusing on technique could rob one of creativity and musicality. I strongly disagree with that sentiment. Technique is a means to an end. How one uses it is a different matter entirely.
As far as I’m concerned, the more technique one has, the better. It just allows for more possibilities. Technique provides choices.
As I get off my soapbox, let’s move on to the subject at hand–a killer lick that Buddy plays on the 1958 recording of “920 Special.” Do you know this tune? It’s classic Buddy. The solo he takes is entirely on the snare drum. And it KILLS. And it’s totally musical.
Buddy’s solo starts at 3:18 on the track and the lick offered here begins at 3:32.
Check out the tune and solo below.
The PDF with the lick is here: Buddy Rich Lick from “920 Special”
Note that I’ve taken the lick and written it out until it resolves back to one so you can mess with it in your practice room more easily.
Try it out and let me know how it goes…
He first gained attention as one of the winners of Modern Drummer magazine's very first drum solo contest, judged by Rush's Neil Peart.
He's played with Oz Noy, Will Lee, Alison Krauss, Curtis Stigers, Emily Remler, Joel Hoekstra, GE Smith, Andy York, Marshall Crenshaw, Tony Shanahan, The Drifters, The Marvelettes, Big Brother and The Holding Company, and many other artists.
For more info: onlinesessiondrummer.com
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Hey Mark this is an interesting and controversial topic, I certainly agree with what you say but it can all be relative depending on what kind of musician someone wants to be. Also again when it comes to music it’s all relative, technique and creativity they are to distinctive skills, they can go hand in hand or be completely disconnected. One won’t make the other better. I think unless you are someone who wants to play absolutely everything and please absolutely everyone it’s important to start developing your own technique at some point to enable to express yourself they way you want it and not the way people are used to hear it. I think this is true of all art forms but then again there’s lots of ways to approach art.
my English is all over the place today…
Hi Andrea!
Thanks for your thoughts.
I think it’s true that technique and creativity can be separate things. However, I still believe that more technique can only help…and creativity can be be ANYTHING —-From bouncing rocks off your snare to playing with objects that aren’t ordinarily used on the drums….Do anything else Juan might think of. But regardless, I do believe the more technique you have the better you are able to create more technique means more choices. Just my opinion.